'The Falcon and the wintertime Soldier' finale completes its ambitious hero's journey

While more conventional than "WandaVision," Marvel's "The Falcon and the wintertime Soldier" explored a bracingly provocative theme over its six-episode run- namely, can a Black man in good conscience take up the mantle of Captain America? That hero's journey concluded with a slightly scattered finale that didn't match the terrific buildup, but which did reinforce the show's admirable ambition.

In essence, the six episodes served as a protracted origin story, picking up where "Avengers: Endgame" left off. Yet Steve Rogers' parting wish that his friend Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) take up his iconic shield- a wish shared by Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), a.k.a. the wintertime Soldier - overlooked the decades of struggle that, in different ways, those characters missed after World War II. Sam's way to overcoming that reluctance -- and accepting his transformation from the Falcon into Captain America -- evoked dark chapters in US history, like the government experimenting on African-American men.

"They'll never let a Black man be Captain America," Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), the surviving victim of this injustice, told Sam in an earlier episode, which made the latter's appearance in the revised uniform -- thanks to the Wakandans -- and hearing him utter the words "I'm Captain America" a particularly stirring moment. As his speech about the necessity to help refugees and dispense with labels clarified, few screen superheroes have felt more grounded.

The previous few episodes were so wildly entertaining, though, that all of those other finale didn't quite measure up, wrestling with way too many side plots, like the fate of John Walker (Wyatt Russell) after his ill-advised stint as Captain America, and his seduction by the mysterious Val (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Throw in the revelations about Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp), and for once Marvel's famous teases for future projects felt a bit more conspicuously like loose ends, begging for another season.

The show also found time to let Bucky come to grips with his grim history as a ruthless killing machine, but finally its greatest asset stemmed from what Marvel identified in Mackie and Stan's screen time together in "Captain America: Civil War" -- the breezy chemistry between them, and how these characters move on without the guy who united them."WandaVision" and today "Falcon and the wintertime Soldier" took full advantage of the creative latitude that streaming provides, with the freedom to devote six hours to a tale and allow such relationships to breathe in a means that movies can't.

Overall the series deftly accomplished its primary mission, that was to explore the dramatic tension in Wilson becoming Captain America, in a manner that went beyond just being told the shield now belonged to him. In addition, it continued to show Marvel's capability to mount big, muscular action in productions for Disney+, while showcasing the depth of its universe.In earlier episodes, though, "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" occasionally soared. Measured against those highs, the finale didn't quite stick the landing.